Former President George W. Bush had the troop surge — but President Obama is opting for the purge.

The president plans to withdraw the bulk of US troops from Iraq by August 2010, according to administration officials.

The withdrawal plan, which would occur in 19 months, would fulfill one of Obama’s campaign pledges — albeit a little more slowly than he had originally promised.

During last year’s presidential campaign, Obama said he would withdraw troops within 16 months — equal to roughly one brigade a month from the time of his inauguration.

A senior White House official, who did not want to be identified, told The Associated Press today that Obama would make the announcement sometime this week.

There are currently 142,000 US soldiers in Iraq — about 11,000 above the total when Bush announced in January 2007 that he would “surge” the troop levels in order to stop terrorists from gaining the upper hand in several parts of the war-torn country.

Although the number of combat brigades — which includes upwards of 5,000 soldiers — has dropped from 20 to 14, the US has increased the number of logistical and other support troops.

The US military would leave behind a residual force — between 30,000 and 50,000 soldiers — to continue training Iraqi security forces. Also staying beyond the 19 months would be intelligence specialists and equipment, such as unmanned aircraft, officials said.

A further withdrawal would take place before December 2011, when the U.S. has already agreed it would remove all troops.